&£3 



» 



5? 

V3 




■■■-:■■/■... 



'■■''■■•'■.''■ 

m m 

■ . ■ ■■ i 






■ I f I ??i^-f, I I I 1 1 r;~:.ir'"-* '.^V: ;:<.,r*?.j*a( : r'i-vr.'. 1 X.< 






';■''-■-.■■.■■•-■*". 
■hMHBBIBBII^P^ 

■ •■■' r ° ■■■':.*/.', ^^^^^H 











r5ra 




*£$*»$ 


■ 










!•,«£ 


5??Sft 


&£ui 


% 






*A 


S£i 






^1 


BBS 


K 


1 




IP 








■ 

©a 


t$ 




jf& 


n 


^ 


M 


1 1 1 




K 


31 


§K 


»R 


9% 


0§«i 


■ 






fti 


*1 


fljK 




in 


■ 1 


cfiH 


Hi 


M 


Jjra 


gjn 











U* J« 



07 'C&UA^<a£c4 r ~*~> . 



63d Congress \ 
1st Session ) 



SENATE 



Document 
No. 224 



SCHOOL STATISTICS 



LETTER FROM 

• HON. HENRY W. BLAIR 

TO 

HON THOMAS R. MARSHALL 

VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRANSMITTING A LETTER FROM ALEX SUMMERS, STATISTICIAN 

OF THE BUREAU OF EDUCATION, STATING THE CONDITION 

OF COMMON-SCHOOL EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE 

COUNTRY AS INDICATED BY THE ACTUAL 

YEARLY EXPENDITURE 



tip 



PRESENTED BY THE VICE PRESIDENT 
OCTOBER 30, 1913.— Ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 
1913 



Monograph 







n. o r n. 

913 



* 



SCHOOL STATISTICS. 



Colorado Building, 
Washington, D. C, October 30, 1913. 
Hon. Thomas B. Marshall. 

Vice President of the United States, Washington, D. C. 

Sir: I have the honor to inclose an original letter addressed to 
myself in reply to certain specific inquiries made by me of the honor- 
able Commissioner of Education for information from the official 
records showing the condition of common-school education through- 
out the country as indicated by the actual yearly expenditure in the 
several States. 

It will be observed that this expenditure is confined to common- 
school education and does not include the high schools nor any form 
of more advanced education. It -is for reading, writing, and arith- 
metic and that primary mental training which is indispensable to a 
fair start in the race of life in any direction. It is as necessary to any 
' real progress by the child as are the senses, the orginal inlets to 
knowledge. 

The educators of the country agree that $28 per capita is the least 
annual expenditure which will give the American child a good — not 
the best — common-school education. 

Besides this is the immense sum which must be provided for the 
schoolhouses. training of teachers, books, etc., which correspond to 
the plant in all business, and common-school education is the most 
important business carried on in this country and will be in this 
—^world. 
; It will be observed that of the $446,000,000 expended for common 
schools in this country over $102,000,000 is paid out in States which 
Bxpend more than $28 per capita, leaving nearly $344,000,000 paid out 
in States which expend less than $28 per capita — the lowest admissible 
standard. The total of the deficiencies is $263,000,000. To bring the 
deficient States up to the standard will require $607,000000. The 
.total expenditure of the whole country would theu be $709,000,000 for 
common schools. Besides all this is the plant. 

Where the need is greatest the ability to bear further taxation is the 
least. Bankruptcy would follow such overwhelming increase of State 
taxation. The evil seems to be increasing, especially in the North. 

The Nation and the State live or die with the common school. 
Whenever necessary the Nation must help, or governments, republican 
in form, will perish from the earth. The primary duty to educate is 
upon the Nation, for in no other way can the republican form of gov- 
ernment be preserved to itself or guaranteed to the State In the 
presence of this tremendous problem, of what consequence are tariffs 
or wars? 

3 



4 SCHOOL STATISTIC^ 

The common school must be spread throughout the world as the 
supreme gospel of free institutions. Universal common-school educa- 
tion is the only institution which can make all nations fit for self- 
government, thus overthrowing tyranny of both soul and body in 
every form, and impregnably establishing the liberties of mankind. 

I would highly appreciate the courtesy of the presentation of this 
and the commissioner's letter to the Senate and that the same be 
printed in the Record and referred to the appropriate committee. 

I have the honor to be. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servo: 

Henry W. Blair. 



Department oe tele Interior. 

Bureau oe Education. 
Washington. July 1. 1913. 
Hon. Henry W. Blatr. 

Colorado Building. Washinyton. D. C. 

Dear Sir : In compliance with your request I am sending you a 
number of statistical tables relating to the State common schools. 

It is difficult to select the " 10 best "' school systems, but to obtain 
a fair average per capita of expenditure based upon school popula- 
tion I have taken the 10 States in which the child 5 to 18 years of age 
receives the greatest number of days" schooling in the school year. 
The following States in 1911 showed an average attendance of from 
101 to 107 days for every child 5 to 18 years of age : Maine. Vermont, 
Massachusetts. Connecticut. Iowa. Xebraska, Kansas. Utah. "Wash- 
ington, and California. 

These 10 States had a school population of 3.509.117 and expended 
in the aggregate $96,005,239 for the common schools, or very nearly 
$28 per capita of this population 5 to 16 years of age. 

The inclosed table shows the common-school expenditure for each 
State in 1911. and in a parallel column the amount which each would 
have expended at the rate of $28 per capita of school population, 
where a higher rate does not now exist. The third column shows 
the increase necessary in each State to bring it up to the $28 per 
capita. Twelve States now exceed this rate. 

With one exception the other statistical items mentioned in your 
letter will be found in the marked tables from the commissioner's 
annual reports sent to-day. 

Federal appropriations made by the Sixty-first Congress for edu- 
cation, directly or indirectly, were summarized in the commissioner's 
report for 1910, pages 181 to 187. I regret that the chapter reprints 
are no longer in stock, but undoubtedly the volume is in your library. 
Very respectfully. 

Alex Summers. Statistician. 



SCHOOL STATISTICS. 



Actual 
expenditure. 



What the 
expenditure 
would have 
been at §28 

per capita, 

school 
population. 



Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

District of Columbia. 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire 

New Jersey 

New Mexico 

New York 

North Carolina 

North Dakota 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina 

South Dakota ....... 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington 

West Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 



United States. 



747,885 

000,628 

510, 132 

070,928 

824,200 

426,833 

604,796 

112,241 

991,379 

390,162 ! 

797,091 j 

737,991 

910,500 

591,340 

209,954 

165, 719 

064.820 

073,603 

010,289 

502,934 

292,552 

006,133 

726,248 

328,394 

162, 072 

045,028 

619,268 

693,800 

- 255 

972,559 
328,926 
140, 697 
184, 936 
057,151 
759,413 
S37, 676 
137,647 
360,109 

400.038 
083; 469 
841,818 

576.045 

647.57^ 

725,919 

860,995 , 

522,573 ■ 

306,852 

120.839 



446.726.929 



$19,344,220 

1,470,224 

14,120,876 

13,535,928 

5,443,116 

7,322,476 

1,415,848 

1,880,424 

6,270,572 

23,763,740 

2,553,992 

39,543,308 

19,04S,848 

15,358,088 

12,690,132 

' 
14,820,708 
4,795,588 
9, 609, 992 
21,467,S24 

16, 039, 744 

16,653,056 

24,234,616 

2,363,816 

9,176,944 

2,689,652 

17,579,800 

2,787,876 

20,198,892 

4,795,392 
32,048,240 
15. 146, 712 

4,329,752 
54, 647, 76S 

3,606,092 
14.363,776 

4,699,968 
18,539,500 
35,103,292 

3.103,940 

2.330,076 
17,746,960 

7,474,208 

10.155,068 

18,187,092 

881,328 



6y2.S75,664 



Increase. 



$15,596,335 
i 469,596 
10, 610, 744 



1,895,643 
811,052 

"*4," 279," 193 
19,373,578 

"'8,' 805," 317 
4.13S,34S 
3, 766, 748 
2, 480, 178 
12,822,089 
10,755,888 
1,721,985 
5, 599, 703 

4," 391, 952 
1,033,611 
13,926,808 
9,906,222 

"i,"i3i,'9i6 

'* 995," 852 

"i,"8l5,"3i7 
7,136.522 
17,05S;i95 

"3,991,689 
: S7 - 

"Li'sio.'m 

1,245,983 
12,195.263 
1,299,930 

: 
23,261.474 

"""682,'487 

13,021,041 

"5," 632," 495 
6,880,240 



263,086,255 



$446,726,929 + $263,086,255=$709 ; 813,184. 



o 



■man 

■in 



;■■■ . : ".■■.- 
,•■•..■•■'■■■'■■ 

■"''■'■':■' : ■.'■'■ : ' 

''•■■'.'•'■'•.'■..■-■ 

■'•■'■'■■'■''.• 

■■.'■..■■ : ■■• *'''.'.'*■ ' 









ini ■'■■'■■"' '■-'■"■■' 

.■■.■■'■.■■>-;',':■•=■.' ■■■■■v : ■ 

'■"■ ; " ; - -'■•'-■'■■'■ '-" r - ''■ : ----' 

■■' ; ' ■■' ' " - : ' ' : • 1 ■ 
" 1111 1 ■"' ■""-' '"''■ 



'■:*•.:":•:■'■-■' 




HHH ■'■■■■■ : '.'' 




'-•-•■■-"■.■■'-■•v. ,'-;:•.>■'." ' 
-.■■'■■•■ '■• = '■■'■.■-.■■■-.•■.. ■ 
'■■'-..' ' BH B -■■;■"■■..■■. '-■ 

■H '■■■■'■:-.'■■■ ; 

•''■■ ■-'.'■•'■■.■■■■'.■ ' 

■-'■..■■.,'- 



$€ 




v .::- s '"'v: ; ; M .•■■■, ;■■■'■•:■■■.■ 1 



.-...■'. V -■•'■■■■■.■■■ . ; .. . 

'■'' ■■'-'• V ,":'-■ ^ .'■'.■•■'-.'■■.'■'• ■ 

Us mm '■■' •■• •■■'"'•'' ■ "'■ '''•'■■- l 
■ ■'■■■-■■■..■■■■■.■■•■■■■■■■■■■■■ 

'■'/:•■■■ : -."^ '■='.'■■'.■ ' 

;.■■'■»■''■■'■■.■:■-.-.■.• 

KM 1 :'..,.'.■;,,-■'. jj 



Hi WSs H9H ;J; : 

' Hi ,; ■'-."■■.■■■■.■ ■" ■■.' 
■■"■..■■■''■■■■■■■.-.■'••■■'—.' 

..•.■...:.■■■•,..,■.)■•■ 
"■■.''.■•■.■"''■■■■■ 

^■■■'■■'-.' ■■'■-■'■•"■■■" ■■■ 

."■...":■■.•'■■•..-■••''■ 
•'■.■.'■■•■".•■■ 8 ••■.. ' 
•■•■''.■■•' ■ 

■■".-■.■■:••■'.-.''..■'. 

- ■- ' ' "■• SS 1 ''■''■■■' '■ ' 






_HHN_ 

nHBm ' 




isSi^tftt 



.".•'■■...-• 



S<f!lW 



